Lok Sabha visits

The détente can begin with commerce and trade. And it should. Because of the enormous potential it offers in bringing prosperity for local businesses and economic relief for the general populace. But making your curry paste with Indian onions in Multan or cracking Pakistani walnuts in Kanpur will not be enough.
Something that the Indian and Pakistani policymakers have to realise is that the relationship between us is not a classic discord in international relations between the two feuding neighbours over territory and waters. If that were the case, things would have been a little less difficult to resolve. These are not the issues but the symptoms of graver problems that hinder any resolution of outstanding issues.
The partition of British India in 1947, which was overwhelmed by widespread communal bloodletting, and the four armed conflicts over the course of five decades between the two successor states including the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 loom large in the imagination of many people and mar the thinking of the powerful military institutions in the two countries.
While there is a lot of common history and a shared cultural and linguistic tradition which can be mutually rejoiced, there is also a deep-seated mistrust and immense grief emanating from the damage we have continually inflicted upon each other.
Old habits die hard. Old ways of thinking take even longer. But if you realise that you have a severe health condition and the physician tells you to quit an age-old habit, you are left with no choice but to accept the new reality in order to live. If you do not believe in some abstract notion of greatness that can prevail over anything that comes your way or do not desire to dominate others without putting your own house into order, you will find the reasons to make peace in the sub-continent fairly simple and plausible.
One, half of the world’s poor live in our part of the world. The countries can only survive in the real sense if the citizens are entitled to a decent and dignified life. The unrelenting terrorism, ethnic and sectarian strife, and increasing disparity between the rich and poor in Pakistan, and the challenges like the ones posed by Naxalites and tense communal relations in India must no longer be ignored.
Two, with us fighting among ourselves, international powers are having a field day in our region. If Saarc becomes a powerful bloc of countries that trust and support each other, we will be in a far better position to negotiate our terms in global economy and polity. Imagine if there is an understanding reached between Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, what impact it will have for all of us. At the cost of being repetitive, one wishes to remind us all that the premise for partition in 1947 was to bring peace to the sub-continent, not to enter into a cycle of perpetual hostility towards each other.
The visiting parliamentary delegation of India is a welcome sign. They represent, they legislate and they define policies. They are worth much more than the track two and three mediators from both sides who end up buying saris in Lajpat Nagar or enjoying tikkas in Gowal Mandi.
While in Pakistan, we keep asking our establishment to change its view of the world and discourage any overt or covert operations anywhere, both Indians and Pakistanis have to mutually agree on an informed and evolved security and intelligence paradigm. Disputes are resolved when there is trust and trust is established when there is a clear change in policy.

The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and author.
Email: harris.khalique@gmail. com